COLI Release Highlights, Quarter 3 2014

Among the 264 urban areas that have participated the third quarter 2014 Cost of Living Index, the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan), NY to almost 20 percent below the national average in McAllen, TX. The Cost of Living Index is published quarterly by C2ER – The Council for Community and Economic Research.

The Ten Most and Least Expensive Urban Areasin the Cost of Living Index (COLI)Third Quarter 2014National Average for 264 Urban Areas = 100

Most Expensive

Least Expensive

Ranking

Urban Areas

COL Index

Ranking

Urban Areas

COL Index

1

New York (Manhattan) NY

214.5

1

McAllen TX

81.5

2

Honolulu HI

171.2

2

Ashland OH

83.4

3

New York (Brooklyn) NY

168.6

3

Harlingen TX

83.5

4

San Francisco CA

165.5

4

Martinsville-Henry County VA

84.6

5

Hilo HI

156.4

5

Richmond IN

84.6

6

Truckee-Nevada County CA

151.7

6

Idaho Falls ID

84.6

7

Orange County CA

145.9

7

Cookeville TN

85.0

8

Stamford CT

145.9

8

San Marcos TX

85.6

9

Oakland CA

139.0

9

Hattiesburg MS

85.6

10

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA

138.8

10

Pueblo CO

85.9

The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering almost 60 different items for which prices are collected three times a year by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations or university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. Small differences in the index numbers should not be interpreted as significant.

The composite index is based on six components – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services.

The quarterly Cost of Living Index is available by subscription for $165 per year for the print version and $150 per year for the PDF. The electronic (Excel) version is available for $250 per year. Be sure and ask about our new County-Level Index covering over 3,000 counties across the U.S. Send check, payable to C2ER, P.O. Box 100127, Arlington VA 22210-0407, or subscribe on the Internet at www.coli.org/store.asp.

If you need additional information on the Cost of Living Index or other COLI-related products such as the COLI Web Calculator and the COLI Historical Index, please contact Erol Yildirim at ey@crec.net or by phone at 703-522-4980.